A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.

Why is this an American dystopia?
Set in what was once US territory, it is about our fears of economic collapse combined with a terror of how reality television can be used as a form of propaganda and torture.

I used to be a moderator of a web forum about Survivor and other reality TV shows. That past haunted me when I watched the movie.

The Hunger Games series explores a society where reality television has pushed the limits on the human condition. How far is this from our own society? Laci explores the effects of "reality" on television.

I must say that since I've stopped watching "Survivor," I'm a nicer person, although there are many confounding variables on that outcome. However, that doesn't mean I've completely given up on watching reality competition shows; it's just that I'm sticking to those that are talent competitions instead of social competitions, such as "The Next Iron Chef" and "Design Star." At least I'll learn something other than "people are nasty to each other and it pays."